Reviewed by David Madsen Yasser El-Sayed, the author of this unique collection of stories, is well traveled, with a stack of hometowns in his carry-on, which he pulls out with nuance, humor and psychological precision, as he explores the landscapes and emotional terrain of immigrants and emigrants, travelers and settlers. We humans are a seeking […]
December Read of the Month: “The Alexandria You Are Losing,” by Yasser El-Sayed
December 5, 2019 by Leave a Comment
Allen Mendenhall Interviews Amy Susan Wilson, Publisher of Red Dirt Press
October 17, 2019 by Leave a Comment
AM: Amy, thanks for doing this interview about Red Dirt Press. Congratulations, too, for reaching the six year mark. You focus on publishing poetry and prose that examines the complexities and diversities of the New South. You also have a focus on social justice issues that are global in nature yet connect to the New […]
October Read of the Month: “Of Bees and Boys,” by Allen Mendenhall
October 3, 2017 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Yasser El-Sayed Much has already been written about Allen Mendenhall’s new book, Of Bees & Boys: Lines from a Southern Lawyer. The celebrated author William Bernhardt, who penned the forward to the collection of essays, states that “Mendenhall is an artist and writer of the first caliber . . . Time and again […]
“The Forsaken,” by Ace Atkins
September 14, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Yasser El-Sayed Let me begin with a disclaimer – not only is The Forsaken my first Quinn Colson novel, it is in fact the first Ace Atkins book I have ever read. One can argue that a work of literature can and should stand on its own, so why not have it reviewed […]
“The Long Rifle Season,” by James Murray
January 23, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Yasser El-Sayed James Murray’s short story collection, The Long Rifle Season, is a beautiful rough diamond, as hard-tumble and razor-edged as it is luminous; its characters navigate harsh physical and psychological landscapes. In the hands of a less capable author, these stories might seem sensationalistic or gimmicky. In Murray’s, however, they are grit-lit […]
“Battlegrounds of Memory,” by Clay Lewis
July 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Yasser El-Sayed In Battlegrounds of Memory, Clay Lewis traces a rich and conflicted trajectory of loss, pain and redemption over the course of generations. This slim book is a uniquely American story that is narrated with unflinching honesty and infused with such elemental raw emotion that its ultimate achievement lies far beyond a […]